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At Last, Healthy Fast Food! Introducing Amanda's

Saturday, August 2, 2008

I want to introduce you to Amanda, the new kid on the block. More specifically, the new kid on my block. I have the good fortune to work directly upstairs from downtown Berkeley's newest (and quite possibly first) healthy fast food restaurant, Amanda's Feel Good Fresh Food.

Several years ago, after reading Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nationand watching Morgan Spurlock's Supersize Me, Amanda West decided that America needs healthy fast food restaurants. It's a great idea and one that has occurred to me many times (usually when I am hungry and happen to be in an airport, at a mall or on a roadtrip). You've probably had the same idea, too. The thing that sets Amanda apart from me and you is that she actually got off her ass and opened a healthy fast food restaurant!

The options for quick, good-tasting, healthy food have heretofore been extremeley limited in downtown Berkeley (trust me, I have looked!) so I am thrilled that Amanda's Feel Good Fresh Food has opened literally downstairs from my office.

My co-workers and I have been watching the construction progress over the past few months and were eager to try it out. So on Thursday we made a rushed run downstairs to grab some lunch.

Grilled Chicken with Amanda’s Sauce, Tomatoes, Lettuce, Pickles, and Onions on a Fluffy Organic Whole Wheat Bun ($4.50). I ordered this along with the Oven Baked Fries ($1.50) and a really nice Just Squeezed Lemon-Lime Soda ($1.75) that was tangy and very lightly sweetened. I was happy with all my choices.

Summer Seasonal Salad of Organic Peaches, Blue Cheese, Belgian Endive & Almonds with a White Balsamic Vinaigrette ($6.95). This was my co-worker Andrea's order. She had also tried their cheeseburger previously and reported that it was really good.

Naturally-Raised Beef Burger with Olive Oil Roasted Red Onions and Organic American Cheese ($5.00) and a Housemade Veggie Burger with Mushrooms and Walnuts and Organic American Cheese ($4.50). My co-workers Marc and Nick were kind (and silly) enough to pose for this photo with their burgers. Both reported general yumminess on both the beef and housemade veggie burger fronts.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries ($1.75). My co-worker Nick ordered these with his veggie burger. We all agreed that they were the weakest thing we tried. Could have used more seasoning.

The main selling points of Amanda's (besides the location) for me are:100% compostable - everything they sell can be put in one of Berkeley's wonderful green bins that get fed into the city's composting program. They use recycled paper and their "plastic" is made from corn. Amanda's seems to take the environment seriously - this page of their site details what they do to reuse, reduce and recycle.

Naturally-raised meats - although organic would be my preference, we are talking about fast food here... According to Amanda's excellent web site, "All of our meat-beef, chicken, and ham-is 100% natural, hormone- and antibiotic-free, and almost entirely grass fed on family farms."

Fresh produce - they use fresh produce (as opposed to frozen or reconstituted) and try to use organic whenever possible.

Affordable prices - although I am certainly willing to shell out for good food, many Americans for whom fast food is a mainstay of their diets are not so the prices do matter a great deal. Amanda's offers very reasonable prices.

Low fat & health-conscious - their sodas are sweetened with agave and stevia, their french fries and sweet potato fries are baked not fried, and their salads offer low fat dressings. Detailed nutritional information for all their offerings is available on their website.

Places like this are so exciting! On the other side of the country, just blocks away from my Manhattan apartment, a 100% vegan/organic fast food restaurant opened up a few months ago. 10 years ago this place would not have stood a chance. I think it's really important to support restaurants that respect their patrons enough to offer them fresh, healthy food. If only Amanda's would deliver to the West Village...the pics are making me hungry :)

Saturday, August 2, 2008

At Last, Healthy Fast Food! Introducing Amanda's

I want to introduce you to Amanda, the new kid on the block. More specifically, the new kid on my block. I have the good fortune to work directly upstairs from downtown Berkeley's newest (and quite possibly first) healthy fast food restaurant, Amanda's Feel Good Fresh Food.

Several years ago, after reading Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nationand watching Morgan Spurlock's Supersize Me, Amanda West decided that America needs healthy fast food restaurants. It's a great idea and one that has occurred to me many times (usually when I am hungry and happen to be in an airport, at a mall or on a roadtrip). You've probably had the same idea, too. The thing that sets Amanda apart from me and you is that she actually got off her ass and opened a healthy fast food restaurant!

The options for quick, good-tasting, healthy food have heretofore been extremeley limited in downtown Berkeley (trust me, I have looked!) so I am thrilled that Amanda's Feel Good Fresh Food has opened literally downstairs from my office.

My co-workers and I have been watching the construction progress over the past few months and were eager to try it out. So on Thursday we made a rushed run downstairs to grab some lunch.

Grilled Chicken with Amanda’s Sauce, Tomatoes, Lettuce, Pickles, and Onions on a Fluffy Organic Whole Wheat Bun ($4.50). I ordered this along with the Oven Baked Fries ($1.50) and a really nice Just Squeezed Lemon-Lime Soda ($1.75) that was tangy and very lightly sweetened. I was happy with all my choices.

Summer Seasonal Salad of Organic Peaches, Blue Cheese, Belgian Endive & Almonds with a White Balsamic Vinaigrette ($6.95). This was my co-worker Andrea's order. She had also tried their cheeseburger previously and reported that it was really good.

Naturally-Raised Beef Burger with Olive Oil Roasted Red Onions and Organic American Cheese ($5.00) and a Housemade Veggie Burger with Mushrooms and Walnuts and Organic American Cheese ($4.50). My co-workers Marc and Nick were kind (and silly) enough to pose for this photo with their burgers. Both reported general yumminess on both the beef and housemade veggie burger fronts.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries ($1.75). My co-worker Nick ordered these with his veggie burger. We all agreed that they were the weakest thing we tried. Could have used more seasoning.

The main selling points of Amanda's (besides the location) for me are:100% compostable - everything they sell can be put in one of Berkeley's wonderful green bins that get fed into the city's composting program. They use recycled paper and their "plastic" is made from corn. Amanda's seems to take the environment seriously - this page of their site details what they do to reuse, reduce and recycle.

Naturally-raised meats - although organic would be my preference, we are talking about fast food here... According to Amanda's excellent web site, "All of our meat-beef, chicken, and ham-is 100% natural, hormone- and antibiotic-free, and almost entirely grass fed on family farms."

Fresh produce - they use fresh produce (as opposed to frozen or reconstituted) and try to use organic whenever possible.

Affordable prices - although I am certainly willing to shell out for good food, many Americans for whom fast food is a mainstay of their diets are not so the prices do matter a great deal. Amanda's offers very reasonable prices.

Low fat & health-conscious - their sodas are sweetened with agave and stevia, their french fries and sweet potato fries are baked not fried, and their salads offer low fat dressings. Detailed nutritional information for all their offerings is available on their website.

Places like this are so exciting! On the other side of the country, just blocks away from my Manhattan apartment, a 100% vegan/organic fast food restaurant opened up a few months ago. 10 years ago this place would not have stood a chance. I think it's really important to support restaurants that respect their patrons enough to offer them fresh, healthy food. If only Amanda's would deliver to the West Village...the pics are making me hungry :)